Red pandas are creatures with unique behaviors and are pretty good at many things.
However, you might ask – do red pandas climb trees?
Yes, red pandas can climb trees. In fact, they are “arboreal mammals”. This means they spend their lives mostly in trees.
This makes climbing one of the top skills they need! Red pandas feel safe living on trees and even find great spots on the top for sunbathing.
This is why you would find lots of trees in a red pandas habitat.
Having known that red pandas can climb trees, you might also be wondering – what kind of trees do red pandas climb?
Let’s find out!
What Kind of Trees Do Red Pandas Climb?
In a red panda habitat, there are just so many kinds of trees to choose from. Red pandas aren’t quite picky about the trees they climb so they’ll climb any that is just comfortable.
However, they might consider the height of the tree depending on the reason for climbing it.
Here are some common trees in their habitat that they would normally climb…
Now you know some of the trees these creatures climb. However, you might also want to know why they climb trees.
Let’s discuss this next!
Why Do Red Pandas Climb Trees?
These cute pandas have different reasons to always head back up to trees after a few activities on the ground. Let’s look at these reasons below:
Shelter
Of course, red pandas live in trees. This is common to arboreal animals. Just as most animals stay in dens or liars, red pandas stay in trees.
So, one of the reasons these creatures climb back to trees is because they live in them. There, they sleep, eat, and do many activities that animals would normally do in their dwelling place.
Recommended Reading: Do Red Pandas Live in Trees?
Protection
Trees are just one of the best ways red pandas escape predators. It keeps them above the ground away from danger.
The fact that they can climb so high and move through tree branches makes them avoid treats easily. These creatures will climb so high if they have to.
Moreover, they can also travel through trees to get as far as possible from threats.
So, whenever these creatures face dangers, they quickly climb up to the nearest tree around them to protect themselves.
This is one of the advantages trees and, of course, good climbing skills have given them.
Sunbathing
Interestingly, one comforting thing red pandas do on treetops is sunbathing during the cold days. Most animals do this for other reasons than keeping themselves warm.
Moreover, most animals do it on the ground but red pandas do it on trees. This is one of the reasons they climb trees, especially very tall trees.
When winter comes around, they’ll climb so high above trees to the canopies where they’ll find their perfect spot to sunbathe and keep their bodies warm.
How Do Red Pandas Climb Trees?
Red pandas head straight up to trees slowly and then climb all the way up. Their long and sharp claws get pretty useful when climbing trees.
These claws pierce through tree trunks and branches, keeping them firm on trees while climbing. Moreover, their thumb-like wrist bone also gives them an extra grip as they move on trees.
Another thing that helps these creatures climb is their flexible ankles. These ankles can rotate to positions that hold them well on trees as they climb. It makes things easy for them!
Their tails give them so much support while climbing up, down, or moving through tree branches. It helps balance them on tree trunks and branches.
This is why you’ll see pandas move on branches so slim with so much confidence. These creatures are just built for climbing.
An interesting thing red pandas do when climbing trees is to go down from trees headfirst. This is a rare thing any animal does, especially arboreal animals. It’s a skill that makes them unique!
How Fast Can Red Pandas Climb Trees?
Red pandas can climb trees very fast. In a matter of seconds, you’ll see these creatures way high up on trees. This speed at which they climb makes them seem too carefree on tree trunks.
Such speed at climbing alongside other climbing features they have makes them more skillful tree climbers than the leopards.
Final Thoughts
To sum up, red pandas climb trees. These cut creatures climb with so much confidence, skill, and speed.
Red pandas do spend most of their lives in trees. This is where they do most of their everyday activity. So, a red panda heads up to trees for different reasons.
The fact that they are arboreal animals makes trees a suitable shelter for them. It’s the right spot for them to take their long lazy naps.
Red pandas feel more comfortable and safe in trees than on the ground. So, climbing trees is what these creatures do all their lives.
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